SWIMMING : Victory Didn’t Count, but Gold Medal Did

After chasing Jimmy Pearce for 1,500 meters Monday evening, Brian Barnes thought Pearce deserved to have a U.S. Olympic Festival gold medal. But Pearce wasn’t eligible.

He was entered in the race as an exhibition swimmer because the South team already had the maximum two entries. Pearce had merely filled a lane unused by the East team.

So Barnes gave Pearce his gold medal after stepping down from the victory stand at the McDonald’s Swim Stadium at USC.

“I didn’t realize he was an exhibition swimmer until after the race,” said Barnes, 18, of Osceola, Ind. “He was definitely the fastest swimmer and the fastest swimmer in a 1,500 deserves the gold. He deserved it, it’s his.”

Pearce, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla., knocked 25 seconds off his best time in finishing in 15 minutes 35.23 seconds, seven seconds ahead of Barnes--who is officially listed as the winner.

“I am so thankful to him,” Pearce said after getting the medal.

Barnes was back in the pool only five minutes later as the anchor on the South’s 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the three-day competition. Barnes needed to win to give the South the team championship.

He dived in with an 0.1 seconds lead, but was passed by West anchor Thomas Hickson. Hickson’s victory gave the West a 334-325 victory over the South.

On the final day of the meet, two records were broken, bringing the total to six.

Downey’s Brian Jacobson broke Olympian Bill Barrett’s 1983 mark of 51.30 in the 100 freestyle with a 50.89, and Sheilah McCarthy of Winchester, Mass., went under Olympian Theresa Andrews’ 1982 record of 2:17.68 in the 200 backstroke with a 2:16.61.

Jacobson, 17, took the lead from the start and was unchallenged by Scott Wester of Huntington Beach in recording the 35th fastest time in the world this year.

“I’m so happy I did it,” Jacobson said. “I wanted to be out first (at 50 meters) and come back strong. I could really feel myself deteriorating at the end, but I tried to hold my head up, and I think that’s the best I’ve ever felt at the the end of a freestyle race.”

Jacobson later won a gold medal on a relay as did McCarthy, a freshman-to-be at Texas who didn’t dream of breaking the 2:17 barrier.

Jason Stelle of Westlake Village won in his future home pool with a 57.76 in the 100 backstroke.

Stelle, who will be a freshman at USC in the fall, led by 0.3 seconds at the 50 mark, then pushed his advantage to a full second over Michael Andrews, the 200 backstroke winner from Cincinnati.

Distance freestylers Trina Jackson of Boca Raton, Fla., and Alexis Larsen of Pacific Palisades staged another battle. This time, Jackson got the best of Larsen, 4:16.51-4:16.89 in the 400 freestyle.

Wester and Joyce Murphy of Campbell, Calif., each won six medals, tying Sarah Perroni from the 1989 Festival for the most medals.